Natatorium Air Quality, by Design

Indoor Pool Air Quality

We fix indoor pool air quality problems. We personally evaluate existing facilities and inform pool owners and operators what can be done. We also assist design professionals (engineers, architects, etc.) in preventing chloramine problems before they start.

Chloramine Problems

Every swimming pool requires a primary sanitizer–usually chlorine–to keep the water clean and safe. When people use swimming pools, however, chlorine can become overwhelmed with bather waste. Bather waste is usually carbon or nitrogen-based, and left alone, chlorine must oxidize these contaminants out of the water. While chlorine is an excellent, efficient sanitizer, it is not a great oxidizer. As a result, byproducts emerge from chlorine doing its job...primarily when it tries to oxidize nitrogen-based contaminants (like ammonia in sweat and urine). There are hundreds of known disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that off-gas out of a swimming pool; one of which is Nitrogen Trichloride (NCl3), more commonly known as Trichloramine.

For simplicity's sake, we in the industry usually refer to all of these off-gassing DBPs as "chloramines". Chloramines are a tricky thing to design for if you are a mechanical engineer or architect, because they do not behave like normal air. Thus, we created Chloramine Consulting to help clear the air. We know how to do it, and we know it takes a coordinated approach involving both water chemistry and air physics.

"The indoor air quality problem for swimming could be like the concussion problem for football." - Steve Crocker, WTI